What Got A La Grange Library Worker Fired: Records

LA GRANGE, IL — A former La Grange Public Library employee who made a comment last year that a co-worker found objectionable was fired two days later, according to library records.

On Tuesday, La Grange Patch obtained documents related to member services clerk Joyce Slabich's firing through a public records request. She filed a defamation lawsuit against the library in late October and withdrew it three weeks later. Slabich's lawyer said her client is likely to refile the litigation as she awaits the outcome of her EEOC complaint against the library.

On Oct. 28, 2019, one of Slabich's co-workers emailed management about a comment that she said Slabich had made to a patron that same day. The co-worker was removing a torn "No Late Fees" sign when she heard Slabich speaking to the patron, described as a woman probably in her 50s.

Slabich and the patron were speaking about how they think freckles are cute, the email said.

"I then heard Joyce say something along the lines of, 'I'm not racist, but I unfortunately think freckles on a black person make them look like an overripe banana,'" the co-worker wrote. "The patron kind of tacitly agreed but didn't say much."

By then, the co-worker said, she had taken down the sign and walked to the recycling bin. She did not speak with either Slabich or the patron.

Patch's records request did not yield any other documents except for the letter notifying Slabich of her firing two days later.

In the Oct. 30, 2019, letter, Charity Gallardo, the library's executive director, said Slabich was terminated that day because of her violation of the library's anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies.

Gallardo ordered Slabich to hand over her parking pass, name tag, locker key and any other keys by the next day. Failure to do so, Gallardo said, would result in further action by the library.

Patch's records request included any response from Slabich to the allegation made against her. The library said it would withhold such documents because of an exception to the open records law for "opinions being formulated" that are "preliminary in nature." Patch is asking the library to reconsider.

In an interview with Patch, Slabich's lawyer, Ruth Major, who specializes in employment law, said she did not want to get into the contents of the co-worker's complaint.

"That should be reserved for the courtroom," Major said. "I think we can agree that this (co-worker), by her own admission, wasn't present for the whole conversation. In our opinion, we believe she got the information wrong. She was never a part of this conversation."

Slabich, an employee for 13 years, received positive performance reviews every year and merit-based raises, according to the withdrawn lawsuit. It also said she had no history of disciplinary actions.

In the interview, Major questioned the swiftness of the library's action, with her client fired two days after the statement in question.

"She went from no discipline in 13 years to termination," Major said.

The lawyer also said she and her client did not see the co-worker's complaint until shortly after Patch received it Tuesday. She said they had requested the complaint and other related documents earlier this year under the state's personnel records law. The library had a legal obligation to disclose them, but did not, she said.

Major also said her client had not received a copy of the anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy she was accused of violating until Tuesday, even though she had requested it earlier in the year.

Major said her client's alleged statement does not fit under the policy cited by the library. That policy involves employee-to-employee statements and actions, but the lawyer said the alleged comment was not made between employees.

The library's policy indicates an extensive process before violators of the anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies are disciplined. Yet Major said the process lasted only a few hours, which began the morning of Oct. 30, 2019, in a meeting between Slabich and Gallardo, the library's executive director.

"Charity said in the first meeting that we're going to look into this. She said she would get back with her before the end of the week," Major said. "About three hours later, she was called back in and told she was being terminated and given the letter."

The library's policy requires it make reasonable efforts to handle a complaint, including convening a conference with the complainant or the accused employee to discuss the complaint and the results of the investigation.

Under the policy, if either side is unhappy with the resolution, the party can submit in writing an appeal to the library board, which will review the investigation report and make a final decision. The policy does not give a deadline for seeking an appeal. Slabich's termination letter did not inform her of her right to appeal.

According to the library website, the board did not meet during the two days in question, so it could have had no role in the decision to fire Slabich. Under state law, the board only has power during legally advertised meetings.

Although the policy refers to an investigation report, it is unclear whether one exists. The library did not provide such a record in response to Patch's request for documents related to Slabich's firing.

Slabich filed her lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court on Oct. 30, but withdrew the litigation three weeks later.

Major said her client was required to file a lawsuit within a year of her termination. Now that Slabich has filed, she could withdraw and then refile within a year, which Major said Slabich is likely to do

Gallardo, the library's executive director, has declined to comment on Slabich's situation.